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Elon Musk Quits White House Advisory Councils In Wake Of Trump's Decision To Pull Out Of Paris Climate Accord

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pictured listening to President Donald Trump during a meeting with business... [+] leaders in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in January.(Photo credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, amid reports that President Trump planned to withdraw the U.S. from the landmark Paris Climate Accord, Musk said that if the president fulfilled that promise he would have "no choice" but to quit the White House advisory councils on which he serves. One day later, both billionaires have made good on their threats. Trump announced Thursday that he will remove the U.S. from its place as a participant in the Paris deal, and Musk promptly tweeted that he will no longer serve on the president's councils:

Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.

Musk wasn't the only executive from corporate America to speak out on Trump's decision, which scientists agree will weaken global efforts to combat the effects of climate change and slow the rising of the earth's temperature. Disney CEO Bob Iger -- also a member of Trump's council on job growth and economic activity -- said Thursday that he too is resigning from the president's council in the wake of his decision on the Paris Accord.

As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein isn't much known for his Twitter use; his account, which was created in June 2011, sat vacant. Until Thursday, when he posted his first tweet: a reaction condemning Trump's decision as a "setback" for the U.S. and the entire globe.

Today's decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world. #ParisAgreement

(Of course, Blankfein doesn't speak for every person associated with his bank: Gary Cohn, the former president of Goldman Sachs, is now one of Trump's top economic advisers and was among the group assembled -- and applauding -- during Trump's speech Thursday.)

Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith took to LinkedIn to write something longer than 140 characters in reaction to Trump's decision. "We remain steadfastly committed to the sustainability, carbon and energy goals that we have set as a company and to the Paris Agreement’s ultimate success," his statement reads. "Our experience shows us that these investments and innovations are good for our planet, our company, our customers and the economy."

It's worth noting that while Trump said Thursday that he is withdrawing American participation in the climate accord, official removal could take up to four years to complete -- so the final decision on the matter could end up in the hands of voters during 2020's general election. In the meantime, however, revoking the United States' participation in the deal puts the country in company with just two other nations in the world: Syria and Nicaragua.

For Trump, Thursday's decision is the fulfillment of a campaign promise. In his speech Thursday, he emphasized the need for a climate deal to be "fair" to the U.S.; he talked of starting negotiations to "re-enter either the Paris accord or an entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States," and noted that it's time to put "Pittsburgh ahead of Paris." (The mayor of Pittburgh, Bill Peduto, doesn't share in Trump's sentiment. "I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future,” Peduto tweeted after Trump's remarks.)

As we noted yesterday, climate change is often treated like a partisan issue, but there's consensus among both scientific and business communities about the manmade and harmful effects of rising carbon dioxide levels on the earth's atmosphere. Throughout the past two years, groups of global chief executives have signedopen letters endorsing the Paris Climate Accord (which, broadly, aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions and hold the global temperature to "well below 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels") and urging American leadership to continue its participation in the deal.

On Wednesday night, another such letter dropped: Marc Benioff, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of
Salesforce.com, posted a plea to his Twitter feed that reads, in part, "Climate change presents both business risks and business opportunities. Continued U.S. participation in the agreement benefits U.S. businesses and the U.S. economy in many ways." Signatories on the missive included
Apple,
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise,
Facebook,
Gap,
Google,
Morgan Stanley and more:

Dear President Trump, as some of the largest companies in the US, we strongly urge you to keep the US in the Paris Agreement. pic.twitter.com/ztSXyYtRrm

Maggie McGrath is an associate editor at Forbes and the editor of ForbesWomen, the Forbes vertical dedicated to covering all angles of female entrepreneurship and the

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Maggie McGrath is an associate editor at Forbes and the editor of ForbesWomen, the Forbes vertical dedicated to covering all angles of female entrepreneurship and the most successful women in business. She has worked on nearly every list Forbes puts out and has edited the 30 Under 30 Food & Drink list, the Just 100, and the World's Most Powerful Women. She's worked at Forbes since 2013 and in that time has written on everything from the student debt crisis to Triple Crown-contending (and winning) horses. Before coming to Forbes, Maggie worked with TODAY show financial editor Jean Chatzky.